Not About the Big Hunts
by LadyTigerFuyuko
Summary: What kinds of hunts do the cast of Devil May Cry get when they're not saving the world and showing Mundus how lame he is? A series of one-shots delving into the paranormal encounters that Dante and co. have on a daily basis, earning their keep.


**Fuyuko: A while back, in Gunfire Portraits, I believe, I mentioned the possibility of my doing a series of one-shots about different hunts. Not another DantexLady series, though they would undoubtedly show up, me being the die-hard shipper that I am, but a set of paranormal-themed, based on real superstitions and such, one-shots about any and all DMC characters on hunts. Now, folks like Enzo and Morrison might not actually show up, considering they aren't hunters, but I'd probably still link them in to some of them and I could easily get in crossovers as well. Alucard and Dante is all well and good, but what about the pre-sealed Alucard and Sparda? That sounds infinitely more fun to me. So. Here it is, the first of that particular series. **

**Disclaimer-bot: Before the author chick makes her grand debut of this next series of shots in the dark, allow me to disclaim that she does not own Devil May Cry or any associated characters, whose rights belong solely to Capcom. Any unrecognized characters, or OCs, as they are called, are hers and may not be abused without express permission. **

**Fuyuko: Thank you. And now, ladies and gentlemen, demons and the dead, I bring to you, 'Not About the Big Hunts'. **

**&**

**Not About the Big Hunts **

**First Shot – EvaxSparda**

**Paranormal incident – BEKs, black-eyed kids, readable on the internet, classification: hoax.**

**&**

The slang term was pretty descriptive, at least of their most prominent feature. What the slang and the stories didn't describe was what they did, at least not after they had gotten you to invite them. Needing to be invited in, invited to come along wasn't actually as big a deal as the paranormal speculators made it out to be, so their asking for permission wasn't the issue at hand. There were still polite humans out there who asked for those things instead of just assuming rights to them. And there were plenty of rude demons who asked for no permission at all, who just got right down to taking what they wanted, the same way most humans did. Some of hell's spawn even asked for permission, like the one trailing the car into the darkened store parking lot.

No, it wasn't the asking that was the issue here. It was what went on after the invitation was accepted that was the issue. Because they didn't have any information on that, and they didn't have any clues about it except that the supposed perpetrators seemed to get a little upset the more it seemed like you would deny them their invitation. Which sounded fishy to say the least, but because it was their field, it was probably fouler than just having a fishy scent to it. Still, neither of them went out and did a job without first looking into it, because it wasn't exactly right to go judging someone – human or demon – on a hunch alone. That was what put the car in the darkened parking lot, the Rolls-Royce looking extremely out of place under poor street-lighting and not but a few feet away from the grocery store's front.

If there was no research out there to be found, a good hunter went out and did the research themselves, and while she wouldn't have done this so readily on her own….it was okay now. If they were going to figure out what the kids – teens really, by most accounts – did when invited to do it, then they were going to need bait. It wasn't a job well-suited to him, despite the fact that he could do it. They'd know him on the spot, or at least, know what he was, given that the kids themselves weren't natural, which seemed to be the case.

They had to give the benefit of the doubt on guilt of crimes, but that didn't mean either she or her husband were deluded from the evidence that the kids weren't exactly normal. Maybe they were just hooligans on drugs in some cases, but overall, the information they had read over seemed to point to a less human origin, and despite agreeing to give the benefit of the doubt to their quarry, she couldn't help but feel that alone meant trouble. Still, it was giving someone the benefit of doubt that had seen him give himself to her and vice versa, despite all differences, so…she could let it go.

She fingered her wedding band, twisting it with her thumb around her ring finger slowly, watching the platinum glint in the dim lighting, fingers extended towards the dashboard. Nothing yet. Bending her blonde-haired head away from its straight-forward facing position, the woman leant over to riffle through her black velvet purse. It was not her usual one, because she preferred function over form, and certainly over design, but it went with the luxury car she was sitting in, and she needed to look the part. If they were after people because of wealth, then she was a screaming red target right now. It seemed like there was an inclination for that, at least that was what she thought, but he had hm'd and said it there was a deeper thread connecting the almost victims.

Not that he had told her what that deeper thread was, no, he had said that telling her that would ruin the connection for her, and refused to speak on it further. To be fair, she hadn't pressed about it, because it really didn't seem like a big deal to her, but now it was back in her thoughts again and it was making her…nervous. It wasn't because she was female; more than a few of the victims had been male. It wasn't because she was young, because the reports had come from young and old alike. It wasn't because she was worried about her safety, because she had a gun under the seat and he would never let anything hurt her.

It just…she was nervous, and she didn't know why. Was that it? There had been quite a few reports that had mentioned the air of nervousness that had pervaded the actual encounter. No, that didn't seem right, because she hadn't encountered anything yet. She glanced up into the compact mirror she had pulled from her purse to be sure. Nothing. What if it was a hoax, just like a few of those who had looked into it thought? But, those people weren't hunters, more than likely, and they really didn't have her experience and certainly not his, and he didn't think it was a hoax. Where was he? Probably on the roof of the grocer's, where he wouldn't need to blend his shadow and hide it.

Damn, she was just plain twitchy, wasn't she? She never worried about where he was on a hunt, and yet now she was doing it. Marriage was making her soft, she snorted, knowing it had done anything but that. Being his wife had made her harder, made her keep up her fight like never before, because she wanted to at least be able to run behind him, not crawl. She wasn't helpless, and she wasn't a weak idiot. She wanted to finger the handgun under the seat, but didn't want to blow her act, so she put back the compact and ran a hand through the top layer of her fine blonde hair. It was too long to run her hands through all of it, even though she loved the length.

She was about to pull out a checkbook or something else, when the back of her neck prickled so sharply that she jerked upright. Automatically, her hunter's eyes swept the car's luxury interior, coming up clean, so she just about brushed it off as wariness. Tap. Tap. Damn, how'd she missed them standing there?

Show was on, she knew, looking out at the kids, almost teens standing outside the Phantom VI and looking in at her with eyes as dark as the car's exterior paint. Dark all over too, she noted, used to picking up things and actually registering them when other people would not have. But…everything else was normal looking, just like the reports said. Wearing clothes that were maybe a little too nice for kids their age and in this place at this hour, but other than that, everything was normal. Immaculately normal, which right away she knew was a good sign that they weren't normal. Spotless sneakers and skin that seemed without a single blemish. Tap. Tap. Hands were normal too, short fingernails that were perfectly trimmed and not grimy underneath.

These were not teenagers. That much she was sure of, even before she rolled down the car window and felt the amulet grow hot on her neck. It had been her engagement ring, and it was a far more useful to a hunter like her than any diamond studded ring could ever have been. Made from demon's blood, enchanted with spells, and layered in magic, the amulet served well at far more than its sole true purpose, like how it tended to grow hot when demons were around. It grew warm around him too.

"Yes?"

"Ma'am, can you take us down the block a little ways? We need to get home, and it would be just swell if you could give us a ride."

"I'm not sure I can do that. I'm really sorry, but I don't like having strangers in my car."

"Please, ma'am, it's just a few blocks down the road and we promise we won't damage your car."

That didn't say anything about what they were going to do to her. Or not do, but she was less and less convinced of their innocence, looking at their black, black eyes and feeling herself sinking into them. So dark, and so empty, vast and black, like a cloudless night, like the night of nights, swallowing everything, a world of shadows, darkness, deep and endless dark that enfolded her….she blinked, shook her head. Damn freaky demon kids, trying to hypnotize her. Where was he? She couldn't reach down and get the gun with the kids watching her like that, couldn't take her eyes off of them now. Killer intent was something she knew when she saw it, and she'd seen it after she'd broken their mind-game.

"No, I'm sorry. I can't do that."

"Please, lady, just let us ride with you! It's just around the corner there; we promise everything will be fine!"

"No!"

She slapped the hand of the one away from the door lock, feeling how cold his flesh was and seeing how he didn't initially react to the pain. The other, the one that had been speaking, was leaning forward on his toes aggressively now, and even if they had been normal human teenagers she would have been unnerved. The air of malice was almost tangible, and she still couldn't go for her gun, because she'd have to take her eyes off them then, and they would grab for her then, she knew.

"Hey! We just want a ride, and we're asking nicely, so give us a ride already won't you? Let us in!"

Both of them leaned forward, now, and there was no way she was going to keep them out of the car. She could bat at them, but that would definitely not keep them away, demons were physically stronger than humans, and two of them would overrun her quicker than one. She tensed, right hand on the seat-belt buckle and her body leant away from them, as ready as she could get to move away. They retreated, relaxed and she felt...calmer?

"Please just let us in."

"Well, I…" She had to, didn't she? That was why she had come out here, yes, to find these kids and give them a ride…no.

No, she had come out here to find these kids and verify that they were going to harm anyone stupid enough to let them in. And they were going to do that, because that was the second time they'd tried to dupe her into letting them in. There was a hot tingle in the back of her neck as well as coming from the amulet on her chest now, and she knew what had to be done. She was so going to kick his ass for this later. Bait she was fine with, but putting her right up next to demons, right into their grasp when she couldn't even go for her gun? Goddamn devil of a husband.

"Alright. Get in."

"Thanks!" Way too bright and chirpy for killer demons, but hey, she wasn't the only actor out tonight.

And just as she unlocked the doors and the kids sat down in the seats behind her and to her side, a nice pincer movement, she thought, it all ended. Their forms hadn't even dropped completely when the bullets from his dual custom handguns ripped open their heads, splattering the plush crushed velvet seat lining along with what was left of the shattered window glass. And her long hair, where it dripped down like sludge of the worst kind. Lovely. She got out of the car, grabbing her gun on the way out and leaving the gaudy purse. Dead demons could have it.

"I thought we agreed to nail them before I had to actually invite them in."

"Yes, well, I knew you would be fine, and I did want to be beyond a shadow of a doubt that they meant you harm."

"I think that was proven the two times they tried to hypnotize me, Sparda."

"Perhaps. But my kind is not very skilled at obtaining things without a little special persuasion, and to use hypnotic suggestion is not itself dangerous. It is what is suggested that is dangerous."

"I'm suggesting that you not do that next time."

"Ah, ah ha, ha, my dear Eva, now that is a dangerous suggestion. Might I attempt to diffuse your wrath?"

"I'll either let you or give you a short bang of a no, so try the Russian roulette."

"Lovely." He kissed her, and the amulet was warm on her neck standing outside the ruined car. Not that she minded its warning. Some devils were actually pleasant company if you let them inside your guard.

**&**

**Fuyuko: So, Eva's encounter with the BEKs ends. She might come off as OOC, but I hope not, I was just trying to maintain the overall theme that most people claiming to have these encounters talk about. There is supposedly the unexplained and overwhelming feeling of wrongness and fear, and I think Eva handled it so much better than any normal person might have. I would be flipping out if I met kids like that, even if they were normal…**

**Up Next: Either D&V with poltergeist, or Lucia with werewolves.**

**Words: 2156**


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